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Proceeding contribution from Baroness Turner of Camden (Labour) in the House of Lords on Monday, 28 November 2011. It occurred during Debate on bill and Committee proceeding on Welfare Reform Bill.


Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I do not want to add much to what has been so well said already in support of the amendment. On the other hand, we have been talking about other Bills while discussing this one, and I note that some of the information that we have from, say, Citizens Advice, indicates that it gets a lot of applications from individuals who have no idea of their entitlement and need assistance with that. If people do not know what they are entitled to, it is easy for them to make mistakes in claiming. That may very well have happened in the cases that have been cited this afternoon. Moreover, it does not say in the Bill exactly what the prescribed amount of penalty will be, so apparently in addition to giving back the overpayment a penalty would be involved. That would mean that somebody who is already very vulnerable and who has no money could be in difficulty on paying both the penalty and the overpayment. I suggest that the Minister looks at this part of the Bill as it could do with a bit of rewriting in line with what a number of Peers have had to say this afternoon.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
733 c7-8GC 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
Subjects
Children Disclosure of information Appeals Benefits rules Deductions Arrears Child Support Agency Fraud Fees and charges ICT Domestic abuse Exemptions Overpayments Mental illness Maintenance Parents Negligence Social security benefits Social Security Advisory Committee Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission Universal credit Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission
Legislation
Welfare Reform Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk